I'm Angry.

This is not a debate. I'm not engaging in discussion. I kept my mouth shut because "I don't discuss religion,  politics or college football" Damn, I'm stupid. 

Do NOT quote the Bible at me. Period. God & I are fine. America was not built by Christian Men with Christian Values. They called for a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.
but...
A vocal, religion-backed far-right minority has decided it gets to tell all of us our Rights.  Even as they prove they don't care about America. Or God. or Christianity.
More worried about guns & curriculum NOT being taught in schools than children in those schools.
More worried about how people express their love than loving people with Universal Healthcare.
More worried about who people marry than helping families in need.
More worried about calling for the death of people from their tax-sheltered pulpits

Fuck that.
Y'all did this.  In 2016. You opened the gates to let this slime ooze out and be brazen and open about hatred. We will spend decades undoing this. By then, maybe it will all burn down-choirs singing as the flames rise.
Ask Rome
Ask Greece
Ask Persia
Ask the Ottoman
Ask Great Britian
Ask the Soviet Union

If anyone thinks overturning Roe V Wade is about abortion,  you are delusional.

Just look at some of the proposed state bills: no IUDs or other types of birth control,  rapists & pedophiles allowed a voice after they have already violated their victims because maybe "some good" can come from a 14 y.o. giving birth to her father's child, citizens asked to turn each other in, doctors required to report pregnant women who miscarry, women FORBIDDEN from traveling out of the state to get an abortion-even to save her life,  ectopic pregnancy forced to continue to the ultimate outcome-the death of the woman.

Trigger laws took effect immediately. 

This is about control, bodily rights and privacy.
Pro-birth, not pro-life.
Women and children will die.
But because they are already born, no one will care.

Next they are coming for
Marriage Rights
Availability of Birth Control
LGBTQ Rights
The kind of sex you can have
Medical Privacy
Voter Rights

This is only the beginning.
Clarence Thomas has already said it. Outloud.
When they show you who they are, believe them.

Vote. 
And not about the cost of gas.
About the cost of our Rights.
While we still have them. 

Chicken Pineapple Kebabs

 

OK...You know I love a little hyperbole, a little exaggeration...OK...as the kids say, I'm a little extra🤣

But this was OUTRAGEOUS! 

Chicken Pineapple Kebabs with orzo and sweet potatoes (yea-too many carbs-sue me!)

Prep to plate time about 30 minutes

Chicken: 

I accidentally marinated a chicken breast overnight in olive oil and the Trader Joe's garlic salt seasoning.  A friend called and asked if I wanted to shop and eat Moe's.  

Ummm-queso?  HELL YEAH! Bye-Bye chicken! 

Chicken cut into chunks with fresh pineapple cut into roughly the same size chunks. I got the skewers with my accessory kit, but you could cut down wooden skewers to size. 

350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes and baste with sauce.

Sauce: I AM A GENIUS! 

I don't really like Asian foods, so I never buy any of those flavors...but, in a fit of "I swear I'm going to try new shit",  I bought a tiny bottle of low-sodium soy sauce.  So, brown sugar, soy sauce and pineapple juice (yes, it is for my tequila cocktail, but I sacrificed-I'm so brave😎 )

A couple tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and a splash of water. Heat and stir in a bit of cornstarch with water, heat till thick. LEGIT would eat my shoe if this was spread all over it! 

Side Dishes

I HATE RICE! But the "Asian" feel of this demanded rice. Or that skinny ramen noodle stuff. I have orzo. So orzo, seasoned with a tiny bit of butter, garlic, salt and pepper. I was going to try to put sweet potatoes on the skewers, but the skewers are small, so I added them to the orzo. In all honesty, if my picky-ass self wasn't so picky, this would be awesome with peppers, broccoli, snap peas, pea pods-all the rice veggies.  OR, I hear Trader Joe's has good frozen fried rice. 

In Conclusion

I most likely will never use the skewers again-kebabs always sound like a better idea than they are-but I will make this chicken right in that airfyer! If I had know Max was coming home, I would have added bell peppers and onions to the chicken (the things I do as a mother!) and veggies to the orzo.  

But it was Marlene approved and since this was a night I worked till 8-better than the drive-thru!

Empty Nest and Full Belly!

So I bought an air-fryer and began posting the stupid shit I do with it on Facebook.  I'm told I should write a blog.  I have a blog, so...consider this your invitation to the wedding 😂 A Three way marriage between the air-fryer,  Facebook and my desire/need to write again! I am nothing if not open-minded...

Please feel free to look into my past posts while you are here.  I used this space for years to write poetry, write posts based on prompts from writing groups and to just get some stuff out of my system.  I will go back and delete anything really dated or irrelevant, but some of this is my best writing. 

I have a few suggestions if you'd like to read a couple of things...

Where I'm From 

Dad

If this is a mid-life crisis, where is my red Corvette?   This one was actually published on the  More magazine website.  To bad it doesn't exist any more! 

I will post the air-fryer stuff to save my Facebook friends**Tee-Hee**but I think I will write the other stuff again, too. 

I have missed it

Yes-I just did this

**TMI ALERT**

The first in series of public service messages to keep you informed about my new hopping empty-nest, 50-something life...

I just went out in the pouring rain (without a bra) to buy a Butterfinger and a lottery ticket...I really need to find a man to do this kind of crap for me :)

  

.

Where I'm From

I am from handmade quilts and Chevy cars, from RC Cola, Donald Duck orange juice, Marion’s Piazza and Mike-sell’s potato chips.
 
I am from the many, then finally the red brick, a small front porch with steps to sit out on, the spirits of lost souls, a big tree of shade and a promise to stay put.
 
I am from the tobacco plant, the clear spring water, the mulberry bush, the lilacs and suburban green grass.
 
I am from real Christmas trees and stubborn as hell, from Whitt and Robinson and Ashley and DuBord and Estes and rumors of Native American and French aristocracy. 

I am from the give the shirt off your backs and the alcoholics and the lovers and the fighters, the coal miners and farmers, the runners and the returners, the forgivers and the grudge holders, the crazy ass and the always steady.

From get your shit off the stairs and did you get something to eat and do you need any money?

I am from Grandpa’s Bible, a tiny church full of hellfire and brimstone with Jesus’ promise of redemption, Grandma’s lap on a wooden pew, Rock of Ages cleft for me, sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains and Amazing Grace.

I'm from a small steel town, the middle of the Midwest, a bit north of the Mason-Dixon Line, Green British Isles, two stoplights, way down in the holler and over the next ridge, soup beans and cornbread, biscuits and gravy and stack cake.

From the time we put the box of caterpillars on Mom’s dinner plate and the Ohio State-Miami Championship game the night before Grandpa’s funeral, using the outhouse at Granny and Grand Dad’s house, Dad’s catering trucks and Jessie’s Buck and Sam and “It must have been the Ghost”.

I am from Grandma’s shed out back, cardboard boxes, a closet that seems to hold everything you’d ever need, a plastic box under the bed, in drawers under socks and the corner of a mind still sharp after all these years. I am from memories that will soon get muddled and faded but can be revived by “Do you remember the time…”

This comes from this template.  
 

Kids and Sports...and Memories

Michelle at Scribbit wrote about her frustration with organized sports for kids.  Here is my comment on her post:

I have to take the opposite approach. My son has played travel baseball since he was 9 (now 17). He LOVES it and yes, I sacrificed. His sister (who graduates tomorrow!) was consumed by band. I sacrificed. Maybe it is different because I am a single mom, but I never minded a minute of it.
My kids had plenty of "get out and play time", our family time was spent at ball parks and football fields, but the drives gave us such great time to connect and they loved all the travel-a hotel pool is the best! I have friend whose daughter swims-and she is at the pool as much as we were at baseball-and the practices are at 5 am!
BUT...what works for your family is the thing to do. Period.

Then several people commented on the "evils" of organized sports. Oh, I get it! Trust me!

1. There are only so many books, magazines and newspapers to be read.  
2. There is NO comfortable bleacher chair.  
3. Fast food is sucky and expensive. It is a pain to pack a cooler every weekend to save money.
4. The parents/coaches/umpires/referees/judges can be incredible jerks 
5. Mosquitoes, heat, cold, rain, sunburn, flat tires, blown engines, injuries, tears, frustration, heartbreak
6. Hours in car are mind-numbing exercises in stress and boredom
7. The list of crap left to do at home is looooong
8. The expenses are crazy! Uniforms, fees, gas, food, hotels-not to mention the shopping I did in new towns with new stores!
9. When the games are lopsided-either way-it is painful
10. Kids do need time to just be kids and play just for the joy of playing

Did it suck-Oh yes it did at times! I will not lie to you.  There were times when I said "Are you sure you want to play again?" and really meant "Oh God, please don't make ME do this again!"

But in the end, it worked for us. My son focused on baseball, but he has played soccer, lacrosse, and basketball.  My daughter played tennis and volleyball and lacrosse-liked all of them-but really focused on band. Her school band is competitive.  They travel all over the state (and country) to compete and play. Just as much time,  money and practice as sports, but with Journey/Michael Jackson/Queen/AC/DC tunes! (and if don't think there are the exact same issues as "sports" you are so mistaken!)

My kids are active in school and community clubs and  volunteer in several community organizations as well as at school.  They work part time jobs, maintain excellent grades and hang out with friends. Organized sports and activities are just part of what they are all about.

My kids have made friends they will remember forever.   The experience of marching at the Governor's Inauguration Parade or playing at the Baseball Hall of Fame and hitting your first home-run at Cooperstown are memories I am glad my kids have. Yes, it is a stereotype, but they have learned teamwork, cooperation, winning with dignity and losing with grace.  They have also learned patience, kindness, and that it is NOT OK to punch a coach in the face no matter how much you want to do just that!

I am better for the experiences as well. Chaperoning, marching, cheering, shivering, sweating,crying and laughing with these people will bond us forever.   And as it all comes to an end, I am glad 18 is marching for the USF Herd of Thunder Band next year. She is not ready to let go of that camaraderie and hard work and frustration and joy just yet. Neither am I!

18

There is a war raging here.

A girl becomes a woman.

A mother becomes a friend.

Together

So we scrimmage

Come in-sync laughing

then crying silently

Apart

The emotional assault

Almost unbearable

We love hard

In concert

and wait for her life  to begin